Optimum HR Systems

The National Labor Relations Board postpones until January 31, 2012 the posting of employees’ rights notice implementation

By Katie Birthler

The implementation date for the new notice-posting rule has been postponed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by more than 2 months and the posting requirement will take effect on January 31st, 2012, instead of November 14, 2011. According to the NLRB, this delay is to “allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly those who operate small and medium sized businesses.”

Most private sector employers will be required to post the 11-by-17-inch notice (poster). The poster is available at no cost from the NLRB through its website, either by downloading and printing or ordering a print by mail.  Employers who usually notify employees about employment rules and policies on a Company Internet or intranet site will be required to post the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) notice online.

This notice does not affect the existing obligation for some federal contractors to display the existing poster about employee rights to union organization in their workplaces, established by President Obama’s Executive Order from January 30, 2009.

For further information about jurisdiction and posting requirements, Optimum HR Systems clients can visit the NLRB Frequently Asked Questions webpage, or direct their questions to Richard Warren. 

Optimal Knowledge: The Harmony Issue

In a perfect world, there should be a harmony between what business goals dictate and what compliance requirements impose. This idealistic harmony rarely exists for several reasons. Some companies believe that they cannot afford to make changes in their way of doing business and adjust to a variety of compliance requirements regarding affirmative action, safety regulations, manufacturing processes or other employment related regulations.  Some other companies believe that since they are stellar performers in almost all aspects of their business they probably will not be hit by an audit. Some companies simply don’t know better – they don’t follow changing regulations, trends in auditing, etc.

All these practices can, in the end, be more costly and disruptive than complying in the first place. The goal should be to integrate compliance into every process so that it becomes automatic and you are prepared long before the auditor (inspector) shows up at your front door.

In this issue, Dick Warren writes about the recent OFCCP audit trends and suggests several steps to develop an “audit-ready” Affirmative Action Plan. With several examples of the cost of safety procedures in recent OSHA citations and the steps to avoid them, Vija Kelly stresses the fact that in most cases is less expensive to adhere strictly to the rules out of the gate than to address them after an inspection. Dick Lee speaks about another type of harmony – one that affects us all – the harmony between a costumer-centric healthcare and the business goals of the healthcare providers. His advice applies to any type of organization.

This conversation about harmony should continue at all levels in your organization. Download the Harmony issue.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS STATE OF THE MARKET REPORT

Keystone Compensation Group LLC, an Optimum HR System partner, just released a new report titled “COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS STATE OF THE MARKET REPORT”. This is an executive report for compensation and benefits professionals and includes 2011 projections for base pay and bonus programs as well as benefits trends. 

The Report is based on thorough research from numerous sources and provides an overview of the current economic environment, salary structure projections, and the 2011 salary budget increase. The report also shows a snapshot of the current health care costs and their projected increase for 2011. It highlights a significant trend for how employers are shifting a larger portion of their healthcare costs increase to employees. The reports also provides high level estimates of the overall cost of providing health care coverage to employees and the breakdown between employees and employers.

Key observations gleaned from this report are:

• The current economic expansion, as measured by Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth, will gradually contribute to creating new jobs and declining unemployment. 
• As a result of this economic growth, talent retention is likely to climb on the list of priorities for most employers as they start to add staff.
• To retain their top talent, organizations need to become better at differentiating pay based on employee contribution. 
• While salary increase budgets are inching up, they are not likely to increase fast enough to reverse the effect of the cost saving measures that employers implemented during the recent recession. 
• Variable pay continues to play an important role in providing employers with a vehicle to share the results of their successes with their employees while keeping their fixed costs under check. 
• The average salary increase budget for 2011 is projected at 3.0% up from 2.4% in 2010. In contrast, employers are budgeting around 11.6% of payroll for variable compensation for professional exempt level positions. 

You can Download the full report here or contact Linda Herman for further information or assistance with your compensation and benefits programs.

 

IMPORTANT RECENT CHANGES AT OSHA

by Vija Kelly

Two developments in OSHA enforcement may have an immediate impact. The first change is a response to studies that have indicated under-reporting of injuries and illnesses. Beginning last year, OSHA launched a “National Emphasis Program on Recordkeeping” with the intent of using stricter enforcement to correct inaccurate and under-reporting. The scope of this program has been broadened.

The second is a direct result of congressional inactivity on amending the OSHAct. OSHA had sought an increase in fines to wield a bigger stick with firms that were willing to risk financially insignificant penalties for non-compliance. No amendment was forthcoming. In response OSHA has changed its penalty calculation system which  effectively raises fines.

NEW ENFORCEMENT OF INJURY AND ILLNESS REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

• Investigation targets have been expanded to encompass manufacturing companies, companies with large worksites, and companies whose injury reporting rates are much lower than the industry standard.

• The criterion for deletion has been removed for establishments that have recalculated days away, restriction and transfer rates greater than 4.2.

• The injury and illness rate criteria have been changed from a days away, restriction, and transfer rate of 4.2 to a rate greater than 4.2 and less than 8.

• Target list selection will use the data from the 2008 OSHA Data Initiative

• The company records to be examined will focus on 2008 and 2009 calendar years.

NEW PENALTY CALCULATION SYSTEM 

• History reduction will expand from three to five years (that is if you had previous penalties in the last five rather than three years, fines will not be reduced)

• A new history increase—Employers that have been cited by OSHA for any high gravity serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violation within the previous five years will receive a 10% increase in their penalty up to the statutory maximum

• Time period for repeat violations will be increased from three to five years• Area Director/Informal Conference reductions will be changed

• High gravity serious violations related to standards will be citable as separate violations

• A gravity-based penalty determination will be adopted, providing for penalties between $3000 and $7000• Employment size reductions will be lessened

• The current good faith procedures will be retained• Final penalties will be calculated serially resulting in an increase of approximately 50% to a moderate gravity penalty.

The Anniversary Issue

Three years ago Optimum Human Resource Systems was asked by a client to set up routine communication regarding “current events” in HR. What evolved from that request is our newsletter  “Optimal Knowledge” and the related blog for more time sensitive information. The publication was first delivered by e-mail in PDF format. Since 2009 it is downloadable from the Optimum HR Systems blog. Thousands of people read it online or printed it to enjoy at their leisure. Optimal Knowledge articles cover a broad range of topics in human capital management, current news, and announcements to in-depth analysis of important issues on the evolution of HR profession. 

The Issues

We focus on one topic per each issue. The first one was dedicated to Affirmative Action. The latest one – to Balance: the balance between costs and safety, the balance between office process and staffing. We covered the quest for talent in two issues in 2008, and the evolution of the HR leader in three issues, along with special issues on compliance and on safety and health.  

The writers and contributors

All Optimum HR Systems associates contributed with their knowledge and expertise in their fields. Vija Kelly writes on safety and health programs, Dick Lee shares his insights on office process; Anita Ryan covered several topics on employers’ handbooks and employee development. Tom Felling told us his secrets about the process of executive recruiting. Guest writers such as Stevan Olson (our creative director) wrote about employee branding. Richard Warren contributed articles on affirmative action, immigration issues and other compliance topics.

The future

During the last three years, Optimal knowledge published 10 issues and 50 articles. Some of them represent timeless information that is useful for any HR manager. With this in mind, we have started to publish flagship articles from varios issues on our blog site in a PDF format ready to be downloaded as individual papers. The first of them is already available here. We also welcome any request for publishing a PDF of your favorite article – just drop us a line at info@optimumhrsystems.com and we will be glad to prepare the PDF and publish it on the blog. 

 Download The Anniversary Issue. 

Child Labor Advisor Updated

Following the changes in the regulations, 29 CFR Part 570, regarding certain work environments involving operation of paper-products machines, scrap paper balers, and paper box compactors, considered unsafe and harmful for children between 16 and 18 years old, the DOL updated Child Labor Rules Advisor.  The change in regulations became effective on July 19, 2010 and immediately after that, the online interactive Child Labor Rules Advisor was changed to reflect the information.

The advisor is  part of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) online initiative, eLaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) and provides detailed information for business and workers on various issues related to child labor. It is designed for a several audiences – teacher, parents, youth, employers, etc. , but also on designed to answer questions about workers and businesses that are subject to federal child labor rules. This Advisor provides information at different levels of detail, depending on who is seeking the information, (i.e., youth, parent, employer, teacher).

The Child Labor Rules Advisor is also a useful tool to aid in understanding federal employment laws. The DOL advises that you first visit the introductory page, where there is a wealth of information about the basic regulations, FAQ and introduction to the Child Labor legislation.

To see the change in regulation of 29 CFR Part 570, you can visit: http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/esa/title_29/Part_570/29CFR570.63.htm

For further information on labor legislation, please contact Optimum HR Systems labor law specialist, Eric Heiberg at eheiberg@chvv.com

OSHA 300A SUMMARY MUST BE POSTED

1 February Through 30 April 2010

• The summary must include all OSHA recordable incidents
• The summary must be posted even if you had no injuries
• The summary must be taken down at the end of April
• If you have employees working at remote locations, you must furnish them with a copy of the summary

The OSHA 300A form is a summary of all of your recordable illnesses and injuries for the previous year. Injuries, as specified in the code, include such things as measurable hearing loss as well as what the word “injury” brings to mind.  The form also requires you to furnish the man-hours worked. And, it must be signed by an officer of the company.

The OSHA 300A summary is compiled from the OSHA 300 log which must be maintained throughout the year.  In fact, illnesses and injuries must be posted to this log within three days of occurrence. The back-up information required for each entry is “The First Report of Injury” and any subsequent medical information such as recommendations for light duty, job transfer or medical treatment.

One of the commonest problems we find is over-reporting. To be recordable the injury must be work-related, require medical attention and involve lost workdays or job transfer. When posting “lost time” illnesses and injuries, remember that the count begins with the first work day after the illness or injury happened. It is sometimes advisable to fill out a “First Report of Injury” when an injury happens that may or may not end up being recordable. The report than can be removed from the file and not entered if it is not recordable, or entered if it does.  An example might be a cut. If the cut does not require stitches and does not result in job transfer or lost workdays, then it may be treated as a warning that you need to find out why it happened and address that issue. If it requires stitches, it becomes a recordable injury and is entered on the log and subsequently counted in the 300A Summary. The same accident investigation requirements apply.

For more information, please contact our OSHA specialist, Ms. Vija Kelly